Writings, observations and ideas either caused by or meant to induce a minor disruption.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Chalk on Sidewalk

Nathan, an art student, is drawing a chalk commercial for Made with Love on the curving sidewalk at the corner of Jersey Ave. & Newark Ave. He is replicating the logo of Made with Love, the Organic Bakery & Café on Jersey Ave. It was the start of Memorial Day weekend, and the streetscape project had progressed down the east side of Jersey Ave, removing the concrete in front of Made with Love, giving the establishment a dirt entrance. Presumably, foot traffic for Made with Love was impacted. Was the chalk on sidewalk to remind pedestrians the bakery/cafe was still opened?

“No, I drew it once before.”

What's it like to work with concrete?

“Sometimes the sidewalks can have a rough surface. This wears down the chalk, makes it harder to draw.”

It was a brilliantly sunny Saturday morning, but rain was predicted for Sunday. He puts time and effort into something that by its nature is temporary. I wondered how he felt, as an artist, about this temporal aspect of chalk on sidewalk. “You get to do it all over again and that’s fun.”